


Don't mess with Robert Sugden's family

by StickAroundTillYouAre80



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Bullying, Fluff, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Protection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-08-31 02:06:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8559151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StickAroundTillYouAre80/pseuds/StickAroundTillYouAre80
Summary: It is a cold winter's day in the Dales, and everything was fine until Liv dropped a bombshell onto Robert and Aaron. She was getting bullied at school. What for? Their relationship. While trying to support Liv they try to figure out why people in 2016 can still be so homophobic.





	1. It started on a cold winter's morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is my first ever fic for Robron so I am sorry if it is a bit rubbish. Hope you all enjoy! Please feel free to comment! :)

It was a frosty morning in the Dales, which made Robert wish even more that he was back at home at the Woolpack, curled under a blanket with Aaron watching a film. However, here he was in the portacabin at the scrapyard with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands to keep him warm as Aaron and Adam were out in the yard trying to tear apart a car that arrived the previous day. 

Robert sighed as he looked at the pile of paperwork he needed to get finished by the end of the month, it was a lot, as he had been putting it off due to wanting to take care of Aaron after the car accident. He smiled as he listened to the sound of his fiancé’s laughter. The sound he never wanted to stop listening to. He rose from the office with the cup of coffee in his hands and walks to the window to watch Aaron quietly. 

Aaron was clad in a black hoodie, coat and high visibility jacket to keep him from freezing in the temperatures the village was being faced with. He even had a beanie on to insulate his head and ears from the cold. Robert couldn't help the smile form on his face as he watched the man he trusted with his life. 

“What are you doing here?” He heard Aaron ask annoyed, his eyes suddenly moving from his husband-to-be to the small figure of a teenager opening the creaky door, letting the icy wind in and disturb the warmth Robert had surrounded himself in. Olivia. 

He sighed and watched the 14-year-old walk to his chair and sit down. Ever since the engagement, Robert and Liv had grown significantly closer and Robert had become very overprotective over the young girl. He walked over to the desk and perched down in front of her slowly, realising the far off look she had in her eyes. 

“Why aren’t you at school, missy?” He asks quietly as Aaron appears at the door and Liv shrugs quickly, looking away from her older brother. Robert shook his head at Aaron a little, a signal to the younger man to allow him to give Robert some time with her. Aaron huffed and shut the door as he walked back to his job in hand, leaving Robert to deal with her tear away. 

“Girls at school found out about yous two getting’ married and they thinking its weird” Liv says looking up at the blonde man sat in front of her. 

Robert’s jaw clenched as he listened to her explain the teasing they had subjected her to that morning during her classes. 

“So, they are bullying you?” He asks angrily about the situation, not at the young girl that needed his support at this moment in time. He watches her nod sadly and sobs quietly. 

“What am I going to do Robert? What am I going to say to Aaron without making him worry?” She asks as she starts to have a mini panic attack, which Robert sensed straight away.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I will speak to Aaron, come on, I will come back to your school with you and speak to your tutor.” Robert says as he finishes his tea before he grabs his keys and Liv’s bag for her. He sets his hand on her shoulder as he guides her out to his car, which makes Aaron look over quickly and he passes the keys and bag to the teenager to indicate to get into the car while he speaks to Aaron. 

“Well, why isn’t she at school?” Aaron asks his fiancé as he points the screwdriver he is holding in her direction. Robert can sense his anger at how much the girl had been skipping classes and the school always were calling him about how vital these two years were for her. 

Robert sighed and looked at the man he dearly loved, telling him this news would make Aaron so upset and angry, something he didn’t want but they were both Liv’s guardians so he needed to know. 

“She’s getting bullied at school Aaron…” Robert says softly, hoping that it would keep him calm. He watched the Dingle lad’s face for his reaction. Which looked shocked and upset.

“W-what? Why?” He asks quickly and looks at the blonde man in front of him. 

“Because of us apparently…” Robert explains “Don’t worry, I will go into the school and explain it to the teachers.” He says to calm his fiancé down, resulting in the response of a nod. Better than nothing. 

Robert kisses Aaron on the cheek quickly, they both have become more opinion in showing personal displays of affection, before walking back to the car to drive Liv to Hotten Academy. 

It was going to be a long and quiet drive…


	2. Receptionist from hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support so far!! Much appreciated! x

Robert drove as sensibly as he could in the current situation. At every chance he could get he would glance over at Liv. She was too quiet and it was killing him. He just wanted to protect her and Aaron from the big, nasty world. He hadn’t been able to do that while he was busy with trying to clear Andy’s name over Lawrence’s shooting, and he regrets it, massively. Heck, he thought Aaron would chuck him out and end it when he admitted that Rebecca kissed him. However, Aaron saw how manipulative she was, just like her evil sister and understood the reasoning Robert had given. He didn’t like that women were still throwing themselves at his fiancé but he knew. He knew Robert loved him. Only him.

Liv bit down her lip harder as Robert slowly pulled into the school car park, her nerves were higher than when she first joined the school after she moved in with Aaron and Chas. She loved the two men who called her family, but she never knew that the teenagers of today’s society would be so homophobic. 

Robert turned the engine off and sat quietly until Liv was ready to go into the school. He wouldn’t push her into going in today if she didn’t want to, much to Aaron’s annoyance. He would take her into Hotten and spoil her to lunch to cheer up. 

“Liv, we can wait until tomorrow? If you want that it is…” Robert says patiently and Liv shakes her head slowly. 

“I want to get it over with Rob, I want to be able to go to school without the girls giving me weird looks…I haven’t done anything wrong, and neither have you nor Aaron, all you did was fall in love! I don’t get why it is such a big deal!” She says angrily as it shows that this bullying had been going on for a while now. 

“Okay, we will go in and sort this out,” He says, rubbing her back to calm her down before they get out the car. Now, Liv never showed affection to Aaron and Robert, it was usually through the use of insults, however, due to how vulnerable she was feeling about talking about how fellow class members were treating, she reached for Robert’s hand. This action shocked Robert a little but when he looked down at the young girl that he had grown to love, he understood that she needed him right now. 

Robert walked towards the main reception with Liv quietly, opening the door for her, momentarily letting go of her hand so she could walk in. He wanted to just lie to the receptionist, tell her that Liv had a dentist appointment, but he knew he couldn’t, he promised Liv that he would fix this for her. 

“Olivia. Nice for you to turn up. What’s the excuse this time?” The short, mousy receptionist asks, not actually sounding like she cared about Liv’s wellbeing at this moment in time. This riled something up in Robert. Seeing how Liv was being treated here. 

Liv looked down at the floor as she allowed the receptionist to be so rude to her, she had no fight in her today. 

“I need to speak to her tutor. Or the head teacher of this school.” Robert says quickly, gaining the attention of the women who was looking at Liv with much dislike.

“And who are you?” She asks quickly, she isn’t used to seeing the guardians of the students at the school, so this is a surprise that a young man would be a guardian to a 14-year-old girl, who caused the school so much stress and trouble at times. 

“I’m her brother-in-law-to-be” He says proudly, but also in a way to put the women in her place, as she goes to get Liv’s file to double check that Robert was allowed access to Liv’s academic records. 

“What’s your name?” She asks, obviously bored with the day already even though it was barely 10 o’clock in the morning. 

“Robert Sugden” He says, rolling his eyes as the women grumbles to herself, annoyed that the smart, intelligent man was on Liv’s contacts. 

“You need to book an appointment with the head if you want to see him…” The woman’s monotone voice dragged which annoyed Robert. 

“I’m not going to book an appointment; I need to see him now!” Robert said as his anger started to rise in his stomach, which scared the receptionist into going to get the headmaster for Robert. 

He sighed and looked at Liv, before guiding her to a couple of chairs while they waited. He wrapped his arm around the small girl as a form of support and protection. 

“It’s all going to be okay…” He says to her softly and she looks at him, feeling positive for the first time that day as someone was on her side. Someone was always going to be on her side when it concerned family as she had the whole Dingle clan behind her. 

She would never be alone ever again.


	3. Instead you prefer men?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this chapter has taken forever to be posted, I have just been really really busy with university work that writing has taken a backseat in my priorities at the moment. I am truly sorry again.

Robert and Liv didn’t need to wait very long for the headmaster to appear by the door near the reception window. He was also accompanied by Liv's tutor, and from what Robert could see was the exact description Liv that she had exasperated to him and Aaron when she started at the school. Short. Fat. Spectacles. Beard. Great, now this is who Robert had to endure to keep Liv safe. 

Liv slowly looked up at the pair, a guilty look plastered over her face since it was not the first time that the headmaster had seen her late this term. 

“Olivia.” He says curtly before looking at Robert, who has now stood up from his chair to greet the man that was Liv should be able to talk to in her times of need while at school, but he immediately came to look at the man in utter disgust. “And you are…?” He asks looking Robert up and down slowly, only having met Aaron before. 

“Robert. Robert Sugden.” He said curtly as he gave a firm handshake to the headmaster and Liv’s tutor. Robert used the same tone of voice that he would often use for new clients when he needed to get a deal signed with them for Home James. It showed power and responsibility in his personality. “I am Liv’s future brother-in-law.” He says and watches for the two men’s reactions, having a hunch that neither will be very pleased about that statement. 

They both had a look of disbelief, shock and disgust merged into one on their faces, they were both of an older generation that is less accepting of both homosexuality and bisexuality, making Robert feel on edge now that he saw the expressions on their faces. The tutor even had the nerve to ask the pair, “So you have a sister as well Liv?”   
This question angered Robert, his cheeks burned with rage. Liv noticed this and grabbed onto his arm to try and calm him down. She pulled at Robert’s arm as she shakes her head quickly. “No, Robert is marrying my brother.” She says nervously as she knew what her tutor’s opinions towards the LGBTQ Community was, he was an outright homophobe who never stopped himself when he spoke about his thoughts and views. 

He looked at Robert and laughed gently. “You? You’re engaged to Aaron Dingle?” He asks shocked and shakes his head. “You could have any girl in the world, but instead you prefer men?!”

Robert narrows his eyes and looks at the men, before grabbing Liv’s bag. “C’mon Liv, we will find a better school for you to attend, one that is against bullying and homophobia.” Robert spits out at the principal and her tutor. Liv immediately got up out of her seat before following the man she had come to love in a brotherly way out the reception and out to his car. 

Robert made sure Liv was in the car safely before walking around to the driver’s seat to get in himself. Once he was sat behind the wheel he looked at Liv with a softer look, one that he saved for Aaron and her. “Don’t tell Aaron about what just happened okay?” He says and she nods as Aaron would be furious about the way that the school handled the situation. 

“Rob…is it okay if we go and get some breakfast?” Liv asks quietly and it instantly makes Robert smile as she was slowly being herself again. 

“Of course we can, where would you like to go?” He asks as he starts the car up and pulls out of the driving space. 

Breakfast with Liv would allow them both to cool their tempers down before arriving back home to Aaron, where they will calmly try to explain what happened at the school that morning. However, Liv was Robert’s main priority at this moment in time as she needed the support and love any bullied child would need from their parents.


	4. They will not get away with this!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy that I am writing again, feels really good and hopefully that I will be uploading more often for you guys! 
> 
> Thank you for liking this story! 
> 
> Any comments are welcome, love you all :) x

Robert and Liv had stayed out for most of the day, wanting to let Aaron calm down, since he was not happy when they left for the school earlier in the day. Robert had kept a careful eye on Liv, making sure that she was okay, he had even allowed her to drag him round the shops in Hotten so she felt better than she did when she had told him that she was being bullied. 

Robert was still annoyed about how the tutor and the headmaster handled the situation, caring more about his sexuality than the welfare of Liv, one of their students. He has realised, ever since Liv came into their lives that the school only care about how they perform in the league tables. They say that they care about the students, that they want to help them, but the parents know the actual truth, as do the students. It’s just so they can get funding for “better opportunities” when it is just spent for supplies towards the different departments. 

Robert checked his phone in the 10th clothes shop they have been looking in, New Look. He notices that Aaron has been trying to get hold of him, as well as Adam, Victoria, Diane and Chas. Great, they are all trying to find out what has happened at the school. He pockets his phone and changes what hand he is carrying the bags of things he has bought Liv with. 

“Found anything?” He asks her but she shakes her head, looking over at him and smiling lightly. He can sense she is starting to feel a bit better. 

“Can we go home? I just wanna watch a film now.” She says and he smiles at her, wrapping his arm round her shoulders, leading her out the shop onto the empty high street. 

“Let’s go, Aaron is probably worried about where we are.” He chuckles as he unlocks his car when they get there, setting the shopping bags in the boot. He quickly texts Aaron that he is on the way home, and to get Liv’s favourite film set up on the TV for when they get back to the Woolpack. 

Robert allowed Liv to plug her phone into the stereo and play whatever music she wanted on the way back to the village. Which ended up being a mixture of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Fall Out Boy. Not bad, he thought. 

He drove quietly and slowly pulled up at the back of the Woolpack that he, Liv and Aaron called home. He looked at Liv as she unplugged her phone and smiled lightly. He believed that everything will turn out to be okay. He got out and grabbed all her bags for her, knowing that she just wants to go straight to the sofa. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the backdoor for them, letting her walk in first and set her bags on the stairs. 

“I will take them up for you once we have spoken to Aaron,” Robert tells her and they walk into the back room. Aaron and Chas had been waiting impatiently for them at the kitchen table, Robert’s face fell as he looked at them, they looked disappointed. 

“Look, I know it looks bad but I can explain…” Robert says and sits with them, Liv sitting in the last available seat quietly. “They didn’t even care that I told Liv was being bullied, all they cared about was I was bisexual and Aaron was gay.” Robert says, allowing this information to sink in, Liv nodding along as she had witness the homophobic comments the two men had said earlier that day. 

“So, they didn’t even suggest a solution to what is happening to Liv?” Chas asks shocked, shaking her head quickly. 

Robert frowned and shook his head. “No, they didn’t.” He says and takes Aaron’s hand as he could sense the anger radiating off his fiancé easily. “I am going into the council tomorrow to complain about the behaviour, hopefully this will carry onto the governors of the school.” He says and looks between them slowly. 

“Right, well, I had best get back out there…” Chas says slowly and gets up off her chair, squeezing Liv’s shoulder as she passed. “We will not allow anyone behind this get away with this, okay?” She looked at the 14-year-old and smiles tightly, Liv standing up and hugging her tightly. Chas has been more of a mother than her own mother has ever been, making her grateful for ever moving in with them. 

“Thank you, Chas, I am sorry for giving you grief all the time.” She says softly, Aaron smiling slowly at her apology, squeezing Robert’s hand in a sign of thanks. He knew he would never been able to keep his cool in there if the two men were being homophobic to him. 

Liv shouldn’t be bullied because two men fell in love. She shouldn’t be bullied because one of those men is her older brother. They know nothing about this family. Which made Aaron very grateful indeed, they should keep their comments to themselves before messing with the Dingles. Liv was part of this family now and no one was going to hurt her again.


	5. You're not bunking off though

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I stupidly posted the last chapter twice, sorry guys! Here is the proper new chapter for you guys!
> 
> Hope you like it!

That night, Aaron and Robert stayed with Liv until she was too tired to keep her eyes open anymore, which resulted in Robert carrying her up to her room. He gently laid her on her bed and tucked her under her duvet, he watched her for a moment and noticed how young and innocent she looked as she slept. He did something that he never thought he would have done with Liv, seeing that she is Aaron’s little sister and they annoyed the hell out of each other the majority of the time, he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead gently. 

“Night Liv, Aaron and I will make sure everything will be alright, I promise” Robert whispers before walking to her bedroom door and turning off the light, shutting the door behind him as he walks to his and Aaron’s room slowly, rubbing his face in slight frustration. 

He shuts the bedroom door after him and looks at Aaron who is already in bed, not asleep yet, just on his phone, probably playing one of those stupid games like Candy Crush. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed as she shrugged off his jacket. 

“She’s fast asleep” He tells the younger man and unbuttons his shirt slowly, looking at the photo on his bedside cabinet – which is of Aaron, Liv and himself, his family. He sets his worn clothes into the laundry basket before pulling on his pyjama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt, before climbing into bed next to Aaron. 

“That’s a good sign then” Aaron says and sets his phone on his bedside table after checking that his alarm is set for the morning. “She will be okay, she’s a strong girl” He says to his fiancé. 

Robert looks at after and smiles lightly, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. “I know, she takes after her older brother, but I can’t help but think about what the headmaster and her tutor were saying about me being bisexual…forget it, I will make a formal complaint tomorrow…” Robert says trailing off at the end of the sentence. 

Aaron bit his lip as he watched Robert, he didn’t deserve this, after hiding his sexuality for so long, and finally accepting himself for it, he didn’t deserve to be ridiculed in front of Liv. “Hey, they are too old fashioned to understand that two men or women can fall in love, they don’t like change, so that it why they thought you was lying…” Aaron says and holds Robert’s hand to show him that he has support through this so their little family could live a normal – as normal as it could be with Aaron and Robert – and happy life without any discrimination. 

He smiled and looked at Aaron, he was trying his best at being the strong one for once and he was doing a great job at it. Robert leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his lover’s lips gently. “I love you” He whispers and looks at Aaron gently. 

A smile creeped onto Aarons face as Robert pulled away. “I love you too” He whispered back and laid down properly so the pair could both go to sleep. 

\------

Aaron, Robert and Chas were in the kitchen preparing breakfast when Liv walked in, already dressed in her school uniform. Robert looked up from buttering his bread at Liv and walks over to her with the plate, not minding about waiting for some more to be toasted. “Hey, Aaron and I have thought about it and you don’t have to go into school today” Robert tells her as he sets her breakfast down in front of her. 

She looked up at them and smiled lightly. “Are you sure? You always moan about me bunking off though…” 

Aaron smiled and sat down next to her with his bowl of cereal. “This time, you’re not bunking off though are ya? We have said you don’t need to go into school today.” 

She smiled at the couple gently and nods. “Okay, thank you, can I come to the scrapyard with you both today?” She asks softly. 

“Sure” Robert says and smiles at her, their bond already growing more due to the events that happened the previous day. “Eat up, then go and get changed, don’t want you getting your uniform dirty.” 

Liv smiled at him as she ate her toast, before running up to her room. Chas looked at the two men gently before commenting. “You can’t keep her off school forever remember…” 

They looked at each other, she was right, Liv had exams coming up so she couldn’t be off school forever. They needed to sort this mess out and fast. But how was the question…


	6. You're still being bitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter as I take a break from university work, which I shouldn't be doing, oh well, writing fanfic for Robron is so much better if you ask me :) 
> 
> Enjoy xx

Liv and Aaron were outside working while Robert was inside working on the accounts for Home James when Adam walked in to get a drink. 

“Shouldn’t Liv be in school?” He asks his brother-in-law, not wanting to ask in front of Liv and get a lecture from Aaron. 

Robert glanced up at him from the accounts then looked out the window at the pair of them. “We thought it was best if we kept her from going into school today” He says before looking back at Adam. 

Adam looked at Robert like he had grown a second head. “Okay then…” He says slowly and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. 

“She’s getting bullied because of mine and Aaron’s relationship…” Robert says as he continues working and rubs his forehead, trying to concentrate. 

“Oh, mate…I’m sorry, have you-“ Adam starts to suggest and Robert interrupts him gently. 

“Been to the school? Yep. Done nothing as they can’t believe that two men can be in love…” Robert says and looks at Adam. “Sorry, it has just boiled my blood.” He says and stands up to get a drink himself. 

Adam watches his brother-in-law quietly before walking back out, saying something to Aaron as the next thing Robert knows is that Aaron walks in. 

“C’mon, let’s go for lunch, you’ve been in here since we got here earlier.” Aaron suggests and sets his gloves down on his desk, looking at his fiancé, sighing as Robert continues to look at his laptop. “Robert, Liv’s fine, can we just go and spend some time together?” He asks again as Robert doesn’t budge from his seat. 

“I need to get the accounts done and this email written to the council, decided not to go all that way in the end…we can have dinner together later though…” Robert says quietly and bites his lip as he tries to concentrate. 

Aaron rolls his eyes at Robert’s stubbornness and walks over to him. Shutting his laptop carefully, which makes Robert glare up at him. “You still need to eat Rob, c’mon, Liv’s worried about ya” Aaron says softly, not wanting Robert to get obsessed over getting revenge on the school, like he did when he was trying prove that Andy was innocent in shooting Lawrence. He didn’t want Rob to go back that obsessive place he was in. 

Robert sighed and his face softens as he looks at Aaron. “Yeah, you’re right, sorry.” He says and stands up slowly, placing a kiss to Aaron’s cheek, before taking his hand and walking out the portacabin slowly. 

Liv looked up from the scrap metal that she was sorting to the men quietly, smiling lightly as they walked over. “Is it lunchtime yet?” She asks and Aaron nods. “Yeah, we are going to the pub, I know exciting.” Aaron teases and Robert laughs gently as they walk over to Aaron’s car. 

\----- 

“Here you go” Chas says as she brings over the food for Aaron, Robert and Liv. “Careful Marlon said its piping hot” She smiles and walks back to behind the bar. 

Aaron lets go of Robert’s hand from under the table to grab his knife and fork to start eating, stealing a chip from Robert’s plate cheekily. 

Robert looks at him in shock but then grins widely. “Hey! If you wanted chips why didn’t you order your own?” He teases the younger man. 

Liv smiles and watches them bicker while they all ate, wishing that she would be able to find love that they had found, even if it was messy at times, no matter how many times they argued and told each other to get out of their lives, they found their way back to each other. They loved each other unconditionally and anyone who didn’t know them could easily see it, see that Robert would take a bullet for Aaron. Well, he did save him from a sinking car in a freezing lake and then dived back into the same lake they crashed into so he could retrieve the engagement ring that adorned Aaron’s ring finger. 

Liv giggled with them as they joked about after they ate, happy that she was able to find a family that wanted her around and care about her, unlike her mum who didn’t give the slightest about Liv’s well-being. 

The happy bubble the three were in burst as Chrissie walked in, rolling her eyes at how her ex-husband was happy with the man he cheated on her with. “Shouldn’t she be in school?” She asks, standing at the table, trying to keep her powerful stance. 

“It’s none of your business Chrissie.” Robert says as Aaron rolls his eyes as Chrissie talks. “We allowed her to have the day off” 

“Wait until the school here about this…” She says as she gets her phone out. 

“Oh, the school that Lachlan got chucked out of because they were worried that he would sexually assault the girls? Why can’t you leave us alone?” Robert says standing up, in a way of protecting Aaron and Liv. 

“I am looking out for her future.” Chrissie said glowering up at the taller man. 

“No, you’re still being bitter over the fact that I cheated on you and fell in love with a man, so what? I am sorry for cheating, but he changed everything for me, and I am grateful as I have become a better person because of him and his family. I am sick and tired of you sticking your nose in where you don’t belong, Liv is part of my family, not yours, you do not get a say in whether she should be in school right now or not.” Robert starts, which leaves Chrissie in a state of shock. “If you even so much talk to Liv, or Aaron, I will make sure your life is a living hell.” 

Aaron stood up and placed a hand on Robert’s arm to calm him down a little. Chrissie looked from her ex-husband to his fiancé quickly. “You do know that he will hurt you, he will cheat again as he has admitted to sleeping with Rebecca when he was with me, he will put you on a high pedestal then tear it down, get out while you can Aaron.” 

Aaron scoffed and looked at her. “Just get out Chrissie, we don’t care what you have to say.” Aaron says and sits back down next to Robert as Chrissie stays standing there. 

“You heard my boy Chrissie, leave.” Chas says standing behind the bar with her arms crossed. Chrissie looked at her before walking out quickly, glaring at the little family before walking out the door. 

Robert looked at Aaron and smiled weakly, then looked at Liv who was smiling at him. “You were protecting us…thank you.” She says and nods at him. 

He was doing the right thing. He was protecting his family, his loved ones.


End file.
